> Andy: "If you dig into the tables about 20k of firearm deaths are suicide
> (about
> half the suicides), 11k homicides, and the balance accidents. "
>
> [WS:] I do not think the stats that you quote supports the point you are
> trying to make. The 20k suicides arguably would have been committed by
> other means if guns were unavailable,
Not according to this:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/
[...]
“Means reduction” (reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal means) is an important part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. It is based on the following understandings (click on each to learn more):
*Many suicide attempts occur with little planning during a short-term crisis. *Intent isn’t all that determines whether an attempter lives or dies; means also matter. *90% of attempters who survive do NOT go on to die by suicide later. *Access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide. *Firearms used in youth suicide usually belong to a parent. *Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.
Firearm access can be a politically-charged topic. This website, however, is designed to introduce a non-controversial, “lethal means counseling” approach to reducing a suicidal person’s access to firearms and other lethal means.
[...]
As far as the rest is concerned, I agree that restricts on guns that prevent much of the rest of the toll are unlikely. Why that means the toll should go unexamined is a mystery to me.
-- Andy "It's a testament to ketchup that there can be no confusion."